Glenmorangie Tusail Review

“Barley Babe”

Country: Scotland
Region: Northern Highlands

Brand: Glenmorangie Tusail (Private Edition)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS (Said To Be Around 10 Years)

ABV: 46%
Chill-Filtration: No   
Buying Advice: Interesting and Different. Quite expensive though.
Whisky Review # 573

Colour: Bright Gold (Artificially Coloured)

Nose: Young, Creamy and very Malty. Certainly different from your average Glenmorangie. I find Sweet Barley, Butter Kekse (German Butter Biscuits), Pastry stuffed with Apricot Jam, Bounty Bars, Vanilla, Toffee, Grass, Straw, Orange - and Lemon Peel, Heather-Honey, Ripe Banana, Milk Chocolate with Nuts, Fresh Coriander, Sugar Coated Red Apples, Cinnamon, Ginger and very light Oak. The Alcohol is reasonably well-integrated. Nosing this Glenmorangie is almost like walking into a Bakery shop early in the morning. The Malt and ripe Fruits are the dominant drivers here with the Glenmorangie Citrus as a mere support act. Quite pleasant altogether!   

Taste: The Tusail shows a bit more of its relative youth here with a tiny bit of Sharpness. On the Palate, the Tusail is Malty and Bitter-Sweet. A few more Spices and a little more Cask time would have helped the Malt here. I find Sweet Barley, Butter Kekse, Bounty Bars, Toffee, Brown Sugar, Puff Pastry stuffed with Apricot Jam, Vanilla, light Heather-Honey, Dusty Roads, Grass, Straw, Sweet Red Apple, Banana Ice Cream, Grapefruit Juice, Citrus Peel, light Oak, light Cinnamon, light Ginger, light Cardamom and Lemon-Pepper.   

Finish: Middle-Long, Bitter-Sweet and Malty with a few Sour and Spicy notes as well. I find Malted Barley, Toffee, Butterscotch, Vanilla, Banana Ice Cream, light Heather-Honey, Bounty Bars, Milk Chocolate, Sweet Red Apple, Cinnamon, light Lemon Pepper, light Cardamom, light Nutmeg, light Ginger, Nuts, light Oak and Dusty Roads. It's a little Dry in the end but not overly so. I would have liked the Finish to be a bit longer.

The Tusail does not improve with added Water. I did get some Orange Blossom on the Nose but otherwise it becomes too Thin. 

Rating: 86.5

Nose: 22.5 - Taste: 21.5 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21.5

General Remarks: Glenmorangie was founded in 1843 by William Mathesen. A nice Visitor Centre was opened in 1994 and a museum followed in 1997. Since 2004 it is owned by Moet-Hennessy. Glenmorangie has always been one of the pioneers to experiment with different Wood Finishes and other novelties.

The Tusail was launched in 2015 as the sixth entry to Glenmorangie's Private Edition series. Tusail is the Gaelic word for "Originating". It is made with the traditionally floor-malted Maris Otter Barley. This malt was first introduced in 1965 as a low yielding but high quality Brewing Malt. The Tusail matured in Ex-Bourbon casks. It's for sale at an average 90 US Dollars (November 2016).

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: It is often discussed in Whisky Land if the type of Barley used has a big influence on the final product. Based on the Glenmorangie Tusail I tend to think it does. Because I can't remember ever having tasted such a Creamy and Malty spirit. Of course I have no way of knowing if this is exclusively caused by the use of the Maris Otter variety. Fact is that the Tusail smells and tastes quite different. It's almost as if the Whisky received a Finish in Ex-Beer casks! That's the feeling to this Glenmorangie. It's a very tasty whisky and I only have two issues with it. In the first place, a somewhat longer maturation surely would have provided more balance. As it stands, the Fruit, Pastry, Bounty Bars and Malt dominate the other Aromas and Flavours. And in the second place, it's very expensive for a NAS Single Malt. If you don't have problems with these issues I can fully recommend the Tusail. It's a very interesting Whisky indeed!

Jan van den Ende                                                                November 9, 2016